Lewis Delivers in Clutch for St. Bernard

With their coach less than three weeks away from giving birth, the Playa del Rey St. Bernard girls’ basketball team delivered a state championship Friday at Arco Arena.

The Vikings outlasted Colfax, 61-57, in the Division IV final, but only after giving first-year Coach Felicia Simon some anxious moments.

“All season, we thought it would be exciting if she delivered in the middle of a game,” joked senior forward Ndidi Unaka, who scored 10 points and had 12 rebounds. “We weren’t trying to make her nervous by making it that close.”

St. Bernard (30-4), making its second consecutive appearance in the final, clinched the victory when senior guard Tracee Lewis made an eight-foot jump shot off a drive with seven seconds left to put the Vikings ahead, 59-55.

Megan Turner pulled Colfax to within two on two free throws with 3.8 seconds left and the Falcons called time out. They fouled sophomore guard Shannon Howell, who made two free throws with 1.2 seconds left for the final margin.

Howell scored a game-high 20 points and also had six assists for St. Bernard, which won its third state championship. The Vikings won consecutive titles in 1993 and ‘94, and lost in the final last year against Moraga Campolindo.

“I kept thinking, ‘My God, why do we always have to make it so hard,’ ” said Simon, who was an assistant at St. Bernard for four seasons before taking over this season. “We never really got to play our game.”

St. Bernard led by 11 points with two minutes left in the first half, but Colfax closed to within 32-28 by halftime.

The Falcons cut the deficit to 46-45 with 7:15 left on a basket by Rose Calvert, who scored 12 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter.

St. Bernard never allowed Colfax (28-8) to tie the score or go ahead.

Brea Olinda 51, Redding Shasta 32--Completing a four-year journey back to the state title game since its last championship, Brea Olinda made a triumphant return in the Division II final. The Ladycats won a record sixth girls’ championship in their record seventh appearance.

It was their first title since going undefeated in 1993-94. The Ladycats had lost three consecutive Southern California Regional finals.

Brea (33-1) won its 22nd consecutive game with a suffocating defense that netted 20 steals among Shasta’s 33 turnovers, with Lindsey Davidson getting seven and Erin Kelly (13 points) getting five.

Shasta made only one field goal in the third quarter, with five seconds left as Brea stretched its lead to 34-18.

Chelsea Trotter finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for Brea.